General Motors to make 1 million masks a month at Oshawa, Ont., plant
General Motors Canada will repurpose its Oshawa, Ont., assembly plant to make one million masks per month to help with a global shortage of medical supplies needed to fight the COVID -19 pandemic.
The Detroit-based automaker is already producing masks in Michigan, but announced Friday it is preparing portions of the Oshawa plant to produce masks at cost to help Canada meet the urgent need for protective equipment for health-care professionals and others. Fifty employees will make the masks on two shifts once agreements are finalized with the Canadian government, and Unifor, the union representing GM autoworkers in Canada, the company said in a statement.
Unifor expects the employees to start working on the masks within the next few weeks.
“Unifor members in Oshawa are highly skilled and proud to step up and make whatever our country needs to get through this pandemic,” Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in a statement. “The fact that Unifor members will help GM produce as many as a million fabric masks a month, for Health Canada at cost, is an example of what we can do when we work together.”
Regular production for the auto industry ground to a halt in late March as automakers suspended assembly lines in response to health and safety measures and non-essential work orders.
The Big Three North American automakers — GM, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — have all repurposed facilities, mostly in Michigan, to produce medical supplies in high demand during the pandemic including masks and ventilators.
Auto parts suppliers have also repurposed to make medical equipment at a time of low demand for new cars and supply chain challenges in an industry that relies on parts made around the world. Canada’s largest auto parts suppliers Magna International, Linamar Corp. and Martinrea have also contributed their manufacturing power to combating the coronavirus spread.
The work in Oshawa comes after a challenging time for the century-old assembly plant, which built its last vehicle in December 2019. About 2,300 people lost their jobs due to the production cutbacks, leaving about 300 employees working to build auto parts and repurpose the plant into a test track for high-tech vehicles.